Chouans

The Chouans were a royalist insurgency in France that was led by Jean Chouan (born Jean Cottereau) and his brothers. The insurgents of the Sarthe adopted the name "Chouan" after the nom de guerre of Jean Cottereau, as well as because of the owl call used by the royalist insurgents of Maine, Normandy, and Brittany (chouan is the French word for the "tawny owl"). From 1794 to 1800, the Chouans rebelled against the republican government in the "Chouannerie", fielding 55,000 troops between 1795 and 1800. The peasant revolt devolved into guerrilla warfare, and the Chouans continued to resist until the revolt was crushed in 1800. Minor chouanneries occurred during the Hundred Days in 1815 and in 1832, but the movement was eventually crushed.